A Little Help From Some Friends
by partypantscuddy
Summary: Okay, so this is a late Christmas present for bamf-gonagall. It takes place after Wilson's death. House receives a visit from a mysterious woman he met at the bar, and it leads to a reunion...with Cuddy


_HAPPY NEW YEAR/MERRY CHRISTMAS CASSIDERP(bamf-gonagall)! So I know you asked for a Huddy runaway one shot post series finale, but I think you'll like this better. At least I hope you do._

* * *

"Sweetie, have you ever heard of a Dr. House?" He heard River ask as he fiddled with the Tardis controls. They had been travelling for a few weeks, just the two of them alone. He hadn't wanted to interact with people since Amy and Rory. He'd only wanted to be around River, and River alone. The places they had travelled were long abandoned or their inhabitants had become extinct eons ago. He didn't want to go somewhere lively. He wanted to mourn his loss and what better way to do that than to travel to dark places in the crevices of the universe?

"No, I don't think I have. Why?" He asked, turning his attention to his wife.

"Really? But he's world renown in his time. One of the most brilliant minds of the early to mid-two – thousands. He diagnosed the impossible."

"River where are you going with this?" He asked raising an eyebrow. She had put on that voice she used when she wanted something from him, and he knew she was going to ask if they could go back and change something in the man's life.

"Well, I met him a few days ago, when I left you to do other things… He was alone in a bar and I worked my magic on him – no I did not sleep with him sweetie, don't get ahead of yourself – but he was drunk, and he let it slip that he had just lost his closest, and only friend to cancer… Then he mentioned this woman, and how if he hadn't screwed up with her, he wouldn't be so alone… He told me her name, and I was wondering if we could…I don't know reunite the two perhaps? A good deed for two lost souls?"

"I don't know River. Maybe they're not together for a reason…"

"No, you don't understand. I went to see her, she's miserable as well. She's alone with her daughter, whom I managed to make friends with – such a sweet little girl, bless her – and she's a _beautiful _ woman, who shouldn't be alone. Clearly she can't get over him regardless of what he did to her."

"And what did he do to her River Song?" He interrogated, narrowing his eyes as she bit her lip and let her gaze wander around the room.

"Well, he drove his car through her living room…But it was because she had told him she wasn't seeing anyone after him and when he went to return something of hers he saw her with someone else… He did it in a fit of passionate rage."

"Why on earth would you want to force that woman to be with him again after he did that?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I seem to recall attempting to kill you once."

"You didn't know what you were doing."

"Neither did he. He wasn't in the right state of mind, and seeing the woman he loves with someone else didn't help. He regrets it. Everyone deserves a second chance Doctor."

"If I don't help you do this you're never going to let me forget are you?"

"No." She replied before walking towards him and giving him a quick peck and taking control of the Tardis.

"Guess it's time to make a difference in someone's life for the better… I hope this doesn't end badly." The Doctor mumbled to himself as he crossed his arms and watched her punch in the first coordinates of their journey.

* * *

Gregory House had been sitting on the floor of his apartment with a bottle of scotch and half empty container of vicodin for the last three hours. He'd relocated back to his home after Wilson's death, even though he himself was supposed to be dead. It would only be a few more days before he drove himself to the point of suicide.

He'd contemplated it several times since Wilson's death and had attempted it once. He'd attempted to overdose on vicodin but had failed, and ended up emptying the contents of his stomach several hours after the attempt.

He had been going to attempt it again, a few days earlier, and if he had he would have succeeded, having planned to play a solo game of Russian roulette. Had it not been for a woman by the name of River whom he had stumbled across at the bar, his body would have been in the early stages of putrefaction.

Somehow the woman had taken his mind off of his hatred of himself and his life, and all she did was listen to him talk. He had been completely shit faced and he knew he most likely had been more open than he would have liked to be with the mysterious woman.

There was a knock on the door and he groaned. No one knew he was still alive, other than Foreman and his mother, whom he had told out of guilt, and he knew Foreman wouldn't come looking for him, and well as for his mother, he knew she would have at least called. He remained on the floor, hoping that the knocking would stop and when it didn't he begrudgingly stood and answered the door.

He opened the door and was met face to face with the woman herself, along with a blue police box in the middle of the hallway.

"Hello sweetie! Come with me." She replied, pulling him into the box.

The box was bigger on the inside, and he couldn't be sure if he was hallucinating or if he was awake. He had taken five vicodin in the last two hours but he hadn't hallucinated in over four years.

"Hello Dr. House. I'm the Doctor."A lanky and thin younger man stated as he introduced himself, reaching a hand.

House dismissed the younger man's greeting and turned towards River.

"How the hell is this possible? There is no way this police box is this big on the inside. It's impossible. What the fuck is going on in here?"

"Well, this is a Tardis, and it's bigger on the inside, clearly. It's a time machine."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Hallucination or not House had a feeling that he was in for one hell of a night.

* * *

Lisa Cuddy stood in her kitchen, washing dishes as a now five year old Rachel sat at the kitchen table coloring.

"I miss River." The little girl mumbled.

Cuddy tried her best not to roll her eyes. River was her daughter's imaginary friend, who apparently came and went as she pleased without Rachel's control of her.

"Then make her come back honey." She replied as she dried her hands, having finished the dishes.

"I already told you mommy, I _can't. _River comes back whenever she wants. She's travelling with the Doctor right now. She said that when she came back she would have a bring something back that would make you happy again."

Cuddy smiled sadly. She had tried to not let her daughter see her sadness since they had left Princeton and relocated to Manhattan over two years ago. She tried to be happy at her new job as Dean of Medicine at New York Presbyterian but she constantly failed. She'd been seeing a therapist who had urged her to let go of her past and attempt to move on but again, she had failed at doing so. She had tried to date again but the relationships had failed. No one could spark her interest. She was bored quickly with anyone she tried to start a romantic relationship with. She was ruined and she knew it.

She hadn't been truly happy since she had been dating House, and there were days when she still cried to herself because if she could go back and change the past, she would have done it in a heartbeat. Deep down she knew that she would be happier with her life if she hadn't ended her relationship, if she had just given him another shot.

She was pulled out of her reverie by a knock on the door. She stood, stopping and kissing the top of Rachel's head before opening the door.

"Hello, you must be Dr. Cuddy. I've heard so much about you." A woman a few years older than herself with big, blonde curls greeted.

"And you are?" Cuddy asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

"River!"

Cuddy turned her to find her daughter behind her, smiling brightly before running towards the woman.

"Hello Sweetie." River replied, taking Rachel in her arms and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I told you I would be back."

"I told you she was real mommy!" Rachel giggled, as she wrapped her arms around River Song's neck.

"Oh my god." Cuddy replied, bringing her hand to her forehead.

There was no way in hell her daughter's imaginary friend was real. It was impossible.

"How is this…What…"

"I'll explain later, I just need you to come with me, I've got a surprise for you." The older woman replied, grabbing her wrist and pulling her outside and into a blue police box.

"What.. How is this smaller on the outside?" She asked as the door to the police box closed and she was faced with something that looked like a control center of some sort.

"Save the questions for later honey." River replied as she continued to pull her through a corridor.

She had to be dreaming, there was no way possible that she was currently being pulled through a hallway in a police box that was bigger on the outside, by her daughter's very real imaginary friend.

They stopped at a door and River pushed it open.

"Cuddy?"

"H-House?"

And then she fainted.

* * *

"Give her some air." House instructed as both River and The Doctor crowded around Cuddy.

"Mommy!" Rachel shrieked in panic.

"Calm down kid, your mom will be fine." He replied stooping down to her level. "Do you remember me?" He asked curiously.

She'd grown a good five inches since he'd last seen her two years ago, but she was still the same little girl he had somewhat bonded with when he had dated her mother.

He watched her nod shyly.

"I'm glad." He replied, ruffling her hair before standing up and walking over to where Cuddy was currently passed out on the ground.

"Never had a woman faint at seeing me before…Wonder if this is a good thing or not…" He leaned over her before blowing at her face.

"Cuddy! Wake up!" He replied before dropping to the ground and giving her a good shake.

He watched her stir and stepped away, not knowing how she would react to him after fainting.

"Where am I?" He heard her ask.

"You are in the multi media room of the Tardis!" The Doctor replied and House watched as he pointed towards the wall of televisions lining the wall.

"Why am I here? Why is _he _here?" She asked, pointing towards House.

"I'd like to know the same." He asked, crossing his arms.

He couldn't believe that he was in the same room as her. But then again he also couldn't believe he was inside a room inside of a police box.

"You two are here, because River Song asked a favor of me, and I am here to fulfill this favor, because as her husband, she won't let me live it down if I don't do this for her. She wants me to help people, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"How exactly are you going to help us?" Cuddy asked, standing.

"You will see." The Doctor replied before ushering River and Rachel out of the room. "I'll be back in a few hours."

The door to the room shut and several of the screens on the wall began to flicker. Each screen soon displayed a past moment from House and Cuddy's relationship. Each moment was one of the bad ones. Why they were being subjected to that they had no idea, but it made House feel completely uncomfortable. He felt as though he were going to be sick, especially as he watched Cuddy cry to herself across the room.

Suddenly the screens flickered again, and the moments that were displayed were all of their happier times. It was surprising how many more there where than all of the bad times. He had been sure that the bad had outweighed the good in his relationship with Cuddy, but he was wrong. He was oh so very wrong.

* * *

At one point she had been crying from the pain of seeing every terrible moment she and House had ever had together replayed in front of her eyes, but currently she couldn't contain the grin on her face as every single one of their good moments together flashed before them.

There was the first time he made dinner at her place, which had turned into a food fight between the two, later ending with the two of them in the shower. There were the times where she would be curled up beside him in bed almost asleep and she would hear him mutter his love for her because he thought she was asleep.

Every relationship had it's bad moments, but that was no reason to allow them to overshadow the good, because in her relationship with House she had never known there ha d been so much good. They had made each other better whether they chose to believe it or not.

She looked across the room to find him watching her, his blue eyes staring into her as they had done so many times in the past.

"I'm sorry." She heard him say before he darted his gaze away from her and towards the floor.

"I know." She replied before walking over to his side. "I'm sorry too. How did we ever get like this?" She said softly, feeling herself on the verge of tears.

"I don't know." He replied, running a hand over his face.

"I've missed you. A lot. Even though I shouldn't have." She whispered, looking away.

"That's funny, I felt the same…Even though what I did to you gave me no right to miss you."

"I forgive you. I was angry at first but as the time went on I realized it could have been avoided. It just hurt how much I missed you."

She placed his hand against his cheek and smiled when he leaned into her touch. She had missed the feel of his skin so badly over the past two years. She had never thought she would have been able to touch him again.

* * *

He couldn't believe that she forgave him. He couldn't believe that she was currently caressing his face like she had done so many times in their short lived relationship.

"It's funny that we're here right now when just a few days ago I was going to off myself because I was so miserable, and now you're here and suddenly I'm not so miserable." He murmured, bringing his hand up to hold hers against his face.

If it wasn't because he knew the feel of her lips against his own like he knew the back of his hand, he wouldn't have believed that she was kissing him. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and instinctively his hands moved down to her waist pulling her against him as her arms wrapped around his neck.

After everything they had gone through, their bodies still managed to fit perfectly together against the other's like a missing piece to complete the puzzle.

"Now what?" He asked when they pulled away, still holding the other.

"I think, that maybe we could…work our way back to where we once were." She replied, biting her lip.

"I think that's okay." He replied before pressing his lips against hers.

* * *

The Doctor watched from the door as the reunited couple pulled away and embraced. He smiled as River joined his side with the little girl still in her arms, only fast asleep.

"Helping others out is good for the soul Doctor." She whispered, kissing his cheek. "Sometimes all it takes is a little help from a friend to get two people back on the right track."


End file.
